On Monday, North Korea attempted to launch a rocket carrying spy satellites into orbit, but it exploded into a fireball shortly after lift-off. Between the announcement of the launch and the rocket's actual liftoff, South Korea sent warplanes as a show of force. In retaliation, North Korea responded by sending balloons filled with feces.
North Korea's goal isn't to explore the silence of space but to deploy spy satellites, which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claims are "a prerequisite and essential for our nation to further strengthen its self-defense deterrence and protect national sovereignty," according to KCNA on Wednesday.
While the idea of chaos ensuing from an alien invasion is horrifying enough, the reality of balloons carrying "filth" dropping from the sky is what North Korea has done. Keeping their promise to send filth over the border, Bloomberg reports that giant balloons with bags of feces have been landing in South Korea, with photographic evidence to support this.
In late December, KCNA reported that North Korea plans to launch three spy satellites into orbit to monitor US troops in the area. This follows North Korean officials' visit to Russia for assistance in deploying reconnaissance devices into orbit.
Shortly after the rocket's explosion, South Korean footage shared on NHK showcased the launch's failure as the unit broke apart and turned into a fireball. North Korea attributed the failure to "the air blast of the new-type satellite carrier rocket during the first-stage flight." The United States, Japan, and South Korea have said that the launch is a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The flying feces balloons are yet another instance of psychological warfare in the ongoing rivalry between North and South Korea. This gesture was a response to South Korea's military display and highlights the unpredictable nature of North Korean tactics​, with Kim Jong Un stating that the South is playing with fire.